Self-adjusting standard



May 25, 1965 fi iled May 20, 1963 B. JONES in 3,185,423

SELF-ADJUSTING STANDARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

LEE B. JQNESJIE BY 8e r'nmes"& emmes A T TOR/VE Y5 y 25, 1965 B. JONES m 3,185,423

SELF-ADJUSTING smnmma Filed May 20, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENEQRL LEE BSJONESJEEL A T TORNE 3,185,423 SELF-ADJUSTING STANDARD Lee B. Jones HI, 4844 Algonquin Ave., Jacksonville, Fla.

Filed May 20, 1963, Ser. No. 281,587

4 Claims. (Cl. 248-188.3)

The present invention concerns a self adjustirig standard which may be used with tables, chairs, machinery or any equipment or fixture whether-temporarily resting on a surface or permanently fixed to a surface.

the form of manual adjustment in one or more of the United States Patent cc legs, either by screws, cams or laterally movable wedges.

In their commercial embodiment, equipment such as refrigerators andwashing machines are almost without exception configured with adjustable legs for anti-rocking purposes.

Most effective in combating problems of rocking is the three-leg milk stool construction. This invention,

by using simple mechanical principle hitherto undiscovlatter case, surfaces that do not match the supporting extremities of the object may cause undue stresses in the supporting members. By applying the automatic adjusting of the present invention, stresses in permanently fixed members are reduced to a minimum. The present invention therefore is useful in all equipments, from those temporarily placed on a surface to those permanently attached to a surface.

One object of this invention is to provide a steadying or anti-rocking base for furniture and other equipment;

A second object of this invention is to provide a fully automatic adjusting mechanism to match the position of legs to the surface upon which they rest or to which they are afiixed.

Another object of this invention is to provide fully automatic leg adjusting means; 1

A further object of this invention is to provide automatic self-leveling means whereby an object will remain level when one or more of its legs rest upon high points in a supporting surface;

A further object of this invention is to provide automatic adjusting means for uneven legs.

Still further objects of the invention will be apparent from the attached specification and drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the self-leveling device assembled on a table;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the base, showing 3,135,423 Patented May 25, 1965 ing mechanism, showing the relative motion in the movable legs;

FIGURE 5 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of a leg pad taken along line 6-6 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 1 shows the self-leveling mechanism used as a table base 10. Open-ended sheath 12 having four circumferentially spaced grooves 13, slips downwardly over the table legs and rests upon base plate 16. In the preferred embodiments, although not shown, a bolt extends through the center of the sheath 12, securing the base plate on its lower end and a conventional dish shaped adaptor on its upper end. The adaptor then may be screwed to the underside of the table.

FIGURE 2. shows the. self-leveling mechanism generally indicated by the numeral 100, having the sheath 12 removed. The stabilizing elements comprise four legs 140, 150, 160 and 170, which are joined adjacent the center of the base.' Radially extending portions 144, 154, 164 and 174 terminate in their outward extremities by downward extending portions 142, 152, 162 and 172. Upright angle irons and are opposingly fixed to base 16, as best shown in FIG. 3. Both angle irons are capped by annular crown 130. Legs and are fixed to respective angle irons by rivets 122 and 112 or other suitable means. Movable legs and are fixed to angle irons 110 and 120 by pins 181 and 183 which extend through their respective radially extending portions 164 and 174 adjacent their inner extremity. Upward extending portions 166 and 176 of the legs are capped by integrally formed cams 168 and 178 having engaging faces 169 and 179. Each leg is constrained for planar movement about its respective pin by angle iron which is fixed to base 16 with its sides parallel to the sides of angle irons 110 and 120 at a distance sufficient to receive leg portions 164 and 174 respectively. Plate or angle iron 180 defines holes 182 and 184 which receive pins 181 and 183, respectively.

In operation, an uneven floor may cause upward motion of leg extension 172, which acts through the remaining portions of the leg 170 to push earn 178 in the direction shown by thesuperimposed arrow in FIGURE 3. Face FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view of FIGURE 2 showing in dotted lines the same movement illustrated in FIGURE 3, i.e. leg 170 being raised in relation to leg 160. In the direct opposite manner cam face 169 slides along face 179 forcing the latter to depress leg 170 when leg 160 is raised. In a similar manner when one of the fixed legs rests on a high point, the movable legs will adjust to a steady position. Leg 140 being raised would cause legs 15% and 16b to rock about a pivot between legs 140 and 170. However, in the present invention, because of the unbalanced forces on the interface of the cams, leg 170 would rise, depressing leg 160 until a stable condition were realized. In a similar manner, if leg 150 engages a high spot, force on leg 160 would act through the mechanical linkage to depress leg 17!).

FIGURE 5 simply shows another embodiment of the invention in which the cams are fixed directly to the upper inner ends of radially extending members 164' and 174. From viewing this drawing, one will realize that the actual application of the invention may assume myriad forms.

Because the adjustment motion is essentially confined -to pivoting, each leg terminates in its outer and lower extremity in a floating pad generally indicated by the numeral 200. FIGURE 6 is a cutaway section of the floating pad taken along 6-6 of FIGURE 4. Generally the float comprises a bolt 210 having a threaded shaft 212 to be interchangeably received in either upright leg portion 142, 152, 162 or 172. Shaft 210 terminates in an enlarged head 214v which is embedded in rubber damper 230. The rubber is enclosed by cap 220 having an inwardly extending lip 222 of sufiicient strength to hold its shape and contain the rubber insert. The bottom of cap 220 describes a fiat floor-engaging surface 224.

The invention has been herein described by way of specific embodiment. Such description is intended to suggest only one means of construction, rather than to define the invention, which is specifically defined in the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A self-stabilizing pedestal type base for furniture comprising: a pedestal radiating at its lower extremity four legs, two of which are fixed, the remaining two being pivoted adjacent the pedestal for movement in a vertical plane, the movable legs further comprising fixed cams of which each cam slidably engages the corresponding cam of the other movable leg, whereby the forced vertical movement of at least one leg acts through said cams to force vertical movement of at least one movable leg.

2. A self-stabilizing equipment base comprising at least one fixed leg, a first movable leg mounted on said base for arcuate movement in a first plane, a second movable leg mounted on said base for arcuate movement in a second plane; extensions on each of said first and second legs, said extensions mutually abutting in an interface not common to said first and second planes, so that the arcuate upward movement of one of said first and second legs acting through said extensions and said interface thereof causes downward arcuate movement of the other of said first and second legs.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said first and second planes intersect.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at rest said interface lies in a third plane bisecting the angle between said first and second planes.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,016,177 1/12 Rogers 248-l88.2 2,262,216 11/41 Vunovich 248-171 X 2,793,468 5/57 Mooser 248188.3 3,080,601 3/63 Kramcsak 248-1889 3,117,392 1/64 Junkunc 248188.3

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SELF-STABILIZING PEDESTAL TYPE BASE FOR FURNITURE COMPRISING: A PEDESTAL RADIATING AT ITS LOWER EXTREMITY FOUR LEGS, TWO OF WHICH ARE FIXED, THE REMAINING TWO BEING PIVOTED ADJACENT THE PEDESTAL FOR MOVEMENT IN A VERTICAL PLANE, THE MOVABLE LEGS FURTHER COMPRISING FIXED CAMS OF WHICH EACH CAM SLIDABLY ENGAGES THE CORRESPONDING CAM OF THE OTHER MOVABLE LEG, WHEREBY THE FORCED VERTICAL 